Recently Bishop Hutterer (our Bishop of the Grand Canyon Synod) has been posting beautiful sunrise/sunset pictures on social media. She included the comments about how the colors reflect God in creation.
I don’t know if it was those thoughts in my subconscious or what it was, but the other day I was looking at the sky the day after it rained, and I saw something that tends to remind me of God’s glory in creation. I decided to take a picture of it when I was in the church’s parking lot, and you can see it above.
Whenever I see rays of light from the sun shining down on the earth, I can’t help but think of God’s creative works in the world. And as I said above, not just God’s creative work, but also God’s glory. I don’t know if it is from pictures in Sunday School classrooms growing up but the beams of light shining out from the breaks in the clouds have always given me this incredible sense of God’s presence.
I think part of it is that it is at those moments when the light breaks through that cool layer of clouds that you begin to feel the warmth on your face and body and you know that the earth will warm up again that also gives me that feeling of God in the midst of that moment and space.
It is also a great image for the season of Advent: celebrating the light that comes through the darkness. We see multiple passages from the Bible that talk about this topic, and most of them we hear during the Advent and Christmas season.
Here are some of them for you to ponder and maybe hold onto when you see those rays of light breaking through the dark clouds.
2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. ~ Isaiah 9:2
6 God said that light should shine out of the darkness. He is the same one who shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:4
32 It’s a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.” ~ Luke 2:32
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. ~John 1:5
Do you have the same experience with light breaking through the darkness? What kinds of images in the world make the presence and glory of God known to you? How might those moments help you live into and appreciate even more the seasons of Advent and Christmas?
May God bless you as you continue to live into and share the Light of the World this and every season of your lives.
Blessings,
Pastor Brian
